AKA at the Drop of a Hat
by 7fandomsandcounting
Summary: DI Hardy has a major secret. Miller doesn't give up on Alec, Jessica sees someone who should be dead, and other impossible things.


**A/N: Set after season 1 of both series. I'm sorry if you're waiting for me to update my other story, but I kinda wrote this at two in the morning while avoiding sleep. This is a one shot I did due to my love of superheroes and DI Hardy angst. I WILL WRITE ALL THE BROADCHURCH CROSSOVERS.**

 **Mostly rated T for language, and to be safe.**

 **I'll write a second chapter if you guys think I should; please tell me what you think! Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all my American readers!**

DS Ellie Miller and DI Alec Hardy sat on the bench on the pier, not speaking much. Ellie felt numbed with shock, and Alec had nothing to say. After all, there wasn't a single condolence he could say without sounding like an ass. Telling her ' _I'm sorry your husband's a murderer and a pervert'_ wouldn't help.

"I wanted to kill him" Miller said, not really with revulsion, but as a statement. "I wanted to snap his neck. Honestly, if they let him out, I think I might. Does that make me a bad person?"

Tom and Fred sat behind them on the beach, Tom doing his homework while Fred played in the sand. Miller couldn't fathom how a few years ago, Joe would've been here, and they would've been a perfect, happy family.

"Of course not, and I'm sorry, Miller." Alec said, interrupting her thoughts. "I understand."

Ellie didn't even have it in her to be angry. She was just so, so tired. "How could you possibly understand?" she spoke quietly.

* * *

" _How could you possibly understand?"_

The sentence bounced around DI Hardy's head. All the pain, the living nightmare his life used to be. She had no idea.

He wanted to help her feel better, but she'd never believe him if he told her his story. Why he was hiding. That he wasn't even Scottish. Maybe he could explain if he was vague enough.

Alec said it before he could change his mind. "I have a brother."

She turned to him. "You've never mentioned anything about your family." Why was he bringing this up now? Ellie didn't get it.

Alec snorted. "Sorry to disappoint, Miller, but my family isn't what you'd call picture perfect." He paused again, and Ellie wondered what the hell he was remembering. "My little brother, Kevin, he's done things far worse than Joe's ever thought of."

 _What are you smoking, Hardy,_ she had thought, but he had looked right at her, and she realized she probably didn't want to know. The expression on his face… it was like he knew exactly what it meant, to have cared about someone who was evil, cared about someone who had done something irredeemable.

They sat there in silent misery for a while, until Fred toddled over, complaining that he was hungry and wanted juice.

So she plastered on a fake smile, and tried to ignore the part of her that was still sobbing inside. After all, she couldn't lose the family she had left.

* * *

Jessica saw the paper by chance. Really, it never would've been on her radar if she hadn't been bothering Hogarth.

She'd gotten a little short on money (and subsequently vodka,) so she reluctantly wandered over to the firm to look for a case. They weren't exactly on the best of terms, but you know, business was shit at the time.

She sat in Hogarth's office, waiting for her to arrive, when a page stuck out of an otherwise immaculate desk caught her eye.

She opened it, and found herself staring at a cheap sensationalist newspaper. WORST COP IN BRITAIN? read the headline, and she almost laughed. Then she saw the picture, and her heart stopped. Frozen, looking at the photo, unable to breathe, unable to think.

Hogarth entered her office, transfixed with her smartphone. "Guess you don't have a problem with me when your alcoholism outweighs your self-righteousness- _shit_ ," she said, noticing what Jessica was looking at.

"I… I snapped his neck," she said with barely a whisper. She took a deep breath, and gathered up all the fight and sarcasm she had left. "Were you ever going to tell me about this? That he's somehow alive, or got an eviler twin or something? Or were you just going to wait until everything had gone to shit to say 'wait, no, sorry Jessie, need your help to fix my fuck-up again?'"

"Jones, it wasn't like that- "Hogarth started, but it was too late to stop the onslaught of anger.

"Oh no, there's _no_ way you were hiding this to help your own end game," Jessica spat out. "Whatever. I came here for a case, I guess I've got one. Broadchurch, huh?" She rushed out, slamming the glass door behind her. It shattered in an instant, but at the moment, she couldn't care less.

 _I'm going to kill you, asshole,_ she thought, _and this time I'm going to make sure you stay dead._

* * *

They'd been working a small vandalism case, nothing major, when they started to interview residents in the trailer park. Who saw what, who was where, that sort of thing. But there was a new resident. Early twenties, blonde, posh accent- the exact opposite of who you'd think resided in the old RV. She opened the door a crack, only seeing DS Miller's face. "What do you want?" she asked warily.

"Police," Ellie said, and gave a reassuring smile. "We just want to talk about the graffiti on Mr. Evan's bins, alright?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. It looked like she was about to let her in, but then Hardy moved into her narrow line of vision.

She screamed, and closed the door in an instant. Ellie heard the _click_ of a lock, and then complete silence.

She knocked and knocked, but there was no response. "I'll wait in the car," Hardy said, in a calm voice yet somehow resigned, like he knew why she was scared but couldn't do a thing about it.

She tried the door for a few more minutes, and was about to give up when she heard the girl talk, barely audible.

"Run." she said. "If he hasn't told you to stay, run. Or he'll make you stay. He made me stay." The door stayed locked.

* * *

Ellie got in the car, and started back to the station. "What the hell was that about, yeah? Bloody neurotic, I'd say."

Alec looked a little uncomfortable. "Honestly, Miller, it was probably my brother. I've met people who've mistaken me for him, and they look at me, and see a monster. He has that effect on people."

"Oh." Miller was bursting with questions, but settled on one. "She said 'he made me stay.' Did she mean-" she took one hand off the wheel, and reached for his hand in sympathy.

But when Ellie touched his fingers, she felt the worst static shock she'd ever had in her life.

"Ah, sorry, Miller." Alec turned beet red.

She brushed it off with a smile, conversation forgotten. "It's not your fault, just the weather, yeah?" she said, even though clouds covered the sky.

* * *

It was only a few days later when Alec got mistaken for his lookalike again, but this time, nothing was ever the same. He'd stopped by Miller's for dinner at her insistence, this time only bringing flowers and chocolates. He was too caught up in silly things, like straightening his tie and worrying about what to say to notice the American PI tailing him.

The four of them had just started on the Sunday Roast when Hardy found himself thrown up against the wall by a pale woman in a leather jacket.

"How the fuck are you alive, Kilgrave?" Jessica delivered her line without breaking. She figured if she could act like she was in control of the situation, then she would be.

Alec, however, wasn't easily cowed, even if she was holding him up with the strength of a weightlifter. "Who the bloody hell is Kilgrave?" he said, staring at her evenly. _That almost sounds like a name_ _he_ _would make up_ , he thought. _But two of them in a week?_

Jessica kept him pinned to the wall, and turned to Ellie and her children, who were staring at the scene unfolding with wide eyes. "Go, get out of here before he hurts you." _I just have to get them away from here; this could get ugly,_ she thought.

To her surprise, Tom looked at her incredulously, and Miller said what they were both thinking. "What are you talking about? He's an ass, sure, but he'd never hurt a fly." The woman seemed like a disgruntled ex, and Ellie had thought a bit of humour would've diffused the situation. But to her horror, she pulled a knife and placed it to Alec's neck.

"If you don't stop controlling them, I swear I'll do it."

 _Shite_ , Ellie thought. "Alright, everybody, let's just all calm down. We can talk civilly, yeah, just put away the knife-"

"You think I'm Kevin" Hardy interrupted, and she whipped her head back towards him immediately. While the black-haired lady was distracted, Ellie grabbed Fred and handed him to Tom. "Go upstairs, take my phone, call 999," she whispered. "I need backup." He nodded, and Miller prayed that they wouldn't be too late.

"You think a police badge and a different accent are going to fool me?" she practically _growled_. "Prove you aren't him."

And Ellie could see it, the red-hot anger building up inside him, rage at the woman with super strength molding into something he'd regret. "Aye." Hardy said, glaring at her. "Kevin couldn't do this."

* * *

It's been decades since he used his power. Alec had long ago resolved that he'd never be different, never be the evil freak he was so afraid he'd become.

But today, he had so many things to live for. Daisy. Almost being a respected cop. According to the nut holding a knife to his throat, his brother was dead.

And Miller. Her wit, her smile… no, he was not dying tonight.

* * *

It takes a moment, and for a terrifying second, he thought it wouldn't work. But just like riding a bike it's something you can't forget. He lifts a hand up, and it's there. White hot sparks, streaks of pure energy dancing across his hand.

Alec smirked at the 'O' shaped look on her face. "Like I said, not Kevin. Now get away from me. You. Bitch."

He didn't mean to shock her. But he's rusty, and ended up throwing her across the room with an electrocution comparable to a lightning strike.

He sunk to the floor. _Shit_ , he thought. _I wonder what would've happened if I'd brought the wine._

* * *

To the infinite credit of Miller, she kept it together until all the cops and EMT's were gone, and Lucy had picked up the kids. She told them it must have been some freak electrical accident, and that Hardy was too distressed to talk about it. Since they were dealing with a woman with second degree burns, they gave him a shock blanket and went on their way. "She'll make it, if you want to arrest her yourself," a doctor or PC or somewhat said, and then it was all silent.

Alec sat on the floor for a while, but eventually looked at Miller. "Thank you for not telling them." He didn't bother with the Scottish accent he'd been faking for so long, switching to Estuary. Miller looked up with a start.

"Is there anything I know about you that's real, lightning man?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Miller, there's just been so much… she said she killed him, eh? Thank God." He took a shaky breath. "You're my closest friend, and I guess you deserve an explanation."

"I'm your only friend," she snorted. "and yeah, I do."

"That's fair." _It doesn't really matter anymore_ , he thought. And it'd been so long since he'd had someone to actually talk to.

He decided to start at the beginning. "I've had the heart arrhythmia since I was born. My parents weren't what you'd call the- _sanest_ of people, I suppose. They were top level geneticists, and they decided something like a pacemaker wouldn't be reliable enough. They had to fix me."

"Most of my childhood was injection after injection, surgery after surgery. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Eventually, though, they realized how to fix it. Basically, my heart problem is caused by electrical malfunctions. What if I could create an electrical pulse on my own?"

He looked down at the floor, and God, Ellie's heart broke at the self-loathing on his face.

Everything else had failed, so Ellie went for a bad joke. "Your parents turned you into a human outlet, yeah? Can you charge my phone?" she asked. _I should be freaking out about this_ , she thought. Somehow, though, this was a manageable turn of events, and nowhere as shocking as what happened with Joe.

He broke a small smile. "I could try," he said. "Miller, I didn't even tell Tess, you can't breathe a word-"

She laughed, surprising him. "No wonder your marriage didn't work out," she giggled, and Hardy could sort of see the humor in it. "But yeah, your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you." Alec sighed, letting the shit storm that had just happened sink in, when he realized something. "I definitely fried the pacemaker," he said casually.

Ellie grabbed his arm in a panic. "Wait, shit. We need to get you to hospital too."

But Hardy was unconcerned. "Do I look like I'm keeling over to you, Miller?" He did, in fact, seem perfectly fine. "I think it only got that bad before because I didn't ever, you know, fry anything. The last time I did something like that, I almost killed someone."

Ellie was appalled. "You mean to tell me you've been killing yourself for years because you refuse to, like, electrocute things in a thunderstorm once in a while? For God's sake, Alec." She realized ranting wasn't going to help. "I may call you shitface occasionally behind your back, but you're my friend, and I don't want to see you dead." She couldn't lose him too.

"Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically. "Glad to know you've got my back."

Ellie turned to him, and Alec realized she was serious. Huh. "Just… stay alive, okay? Promise me."

"I think I can do that."

* * *

Jessica woke up to the sound of a beeping monitor, and sat up with a start. The movement ripped the handcuffs off that she hadn't known were there. Oops. The man that looked so much like Kilgrave was there, along with the woman from the dinner.

At least in the daylight, it was a bit clearer. While his face was every bit as angry as Kevin's, it held compassion and guilt as well. Whoever he was, he wasn't a monster.

He spoke up, and Jessica flinched. It was the same voice. "I'm DI Alec… Thompson, this is DS Ellie Miller." He fidgeted with the end of his right sleeve, a little embarrassed. "I take it you killed my brother. Congratulations."

Maybe it was the morphine dripping in her arm, but the implications of that didn't send her reeling. "Albert and Louise never said anything about having a son," she said.

"You've met mum and- never mind, I haven't talked to them since university, doesn't matter" he said. "I'm just here to say we're not pressing charges."

Miller had clearly not been informed of this. "Wait, what the hell do you mean we're not pressing charges? She almost killed you!"

Alec ignored her, instead focusing his gaze on Jessica. She wanted to scream, fight, snap his neck over and over, something, but she just sat there _. It's not him_ , she told herself, _it's not him._

"Thank you," she said, the only thing she could think to say.

They started to walk out of the room, when Jessica called out "wait."

He looked so, so tired. Jessica realized he probably lived the same hell his parents did. But he deserved to know. "Albert and Louise," she began. "They're dead."

Alec winced, but didn't look too surprised. "Can't say it was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Jones, but I'm glad you told me. It's better to know."

As an afterthought, he added a warning. "Also, I'd get out of the country soon if I were you, or I might just change my mind about arresting you. Leave."

Jessica boarded a plane back to New York the next day.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Ellie hissed at him, below the earshot of the hospital staff as they moved towards the parking lot. "You're just letting her walk?"

"To be fair, she thought I was a cold-blooded sociopath," Alec started, but that only set her off more.

"To be fair? For fuck's sake, Hardy- your name isn't even Hardy, but whatever, thanks for not telling me; stop beating around the bush. What did your brother do that was so bloody terrible?"

They'd made it to the car, and he sat down, slamming the left side door shut.

"You really want to know?" he asked, and Miller had thought she did. So she nodded, and he told her.

He told her about the endless commands, about what it was like to be told to do literally anything, and actually do it. About the hot iron on his mother's face, the people who jumped out a window or cut their fingers off because Kevin told them to. How he barely escaped, only because his brother was occupied with some poor, poor girl at the time.

By the end of it, Miller held him tight in a hug, and murmured, "I'm so sorry." She wished she'd never asked.

* * *

"I'm billing you for the door, you know" Hogarth slurred, barely spilling her imported Irish whiskey. Jessica had been more than happy to drink the booze, and the conversation definitely required shot glasses. "I almost can't believe it wasn't him?"

"Yeah." Jessica took a swig of the bottle. "The guy was every bit as bitter as Kilgrave, and kinda a dick, but he wasn't… evil?" She burped, and laughed at the disgusted expression on Hogarth's face. "I'm just glad my family's not that fucked up."

A drunk Hogarth was not a subtle Hogarth. "Your family's dead."

Jessica looked at her pointedly. "Exactly."

* * *

The next few months were a blur. After his heart condition being miraculously cured, Alec found himself put back on the force, if a bit reluctantly. Jenkinson herself went down to the doctor, convinced he'd bribed someone, but returned empty handed.

At the office, they pretended nothing was different. He kept up the pseudonym and the accent, and life went on, as normal as it could be. They solved crimes, nothing as big as Danny's murder, and waited for the inevitable trial.

There was one incident when Alec may have 'tasered' an escaping robbery suspect (at least that's what they wrote in the report), but mostly, their lives were uneventful. And without noticing it, he began spending more and more time with Ellie. In fact, he hadn't really noticed when that he'd started to call her Ellie.

Late one Friday night, neither of them could sleep. The sat on the sofa, watching Bake-Off, when suddenly she asked him if he could do the lightning thing.

"Do I look like a circus animal to you?" he grumbled, but stood up anyway.

He made the sparks circle around him, moving up in a spiral from his feet, and Miller grinned from ear to ear. It was a work of art. "That's beautiful," she whispered, looking at him in awe, but at the same time, a voice piped up from around the door.

"Wicked," Tom said, and Ellie spun around in shock.

"It is one in the morning, what the hell are you doing up?"

"I was getting water. Couldn't sleep. When were you going to tell me your boyfriend's bloody Thor?"

"Oi! don't be rude." She sighed. "It wasn't my secret to tell"

"We're not dating," Alec added, all evidence of the electrical show gone.

They all stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Tom waltzed out of the room. "Well, this has been fun," he called as he went back up the stairs, "but I'll be back when I'm sure I'm not hallucinating, thanks. See you in the morning."

Alec sat down on the couch again with a _plop_. "Well, that went well," he said, and handed Ellie the remote. She pressed play, and they went back to the show.

"Sorry about that," she told him. "Tom can be a little shit when he feels like it, but he's a good person. He won't go around telling the whole town."

"It's alright," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "He's just a kid."

* * *

It wasn't really alright, he thought. Their lives were so far from alright. But with Ellie muttering about the tragedy of the binned baked Alaska, snuggled up against him on the couch, he thought it was as close as they were going to get.

THE END


End file.
